7 Transactions That Backfired

5- Lindros and his headTransaction: The NHL's Philadelphia Flyers gave up $15 million and a wealth of players for Eric LindrosResult: Lindros became both a headcase and a pain in the neck

Lindros was the hottest player in the junior circuit, and the now-defunct Quebec Nordiques pounced on him first in the 1991 NHL draft — even though he had repeatedly warned that he would never play for them. Lindros proved that he meant what he had said by sitting out his debut season. In 1992, the Nordiques traded Lindros to the Flyers for Mike Ricci, Peter Forsberg, Ron Hextall, and $15 million.

Out of the gates, Lindros looked great. In his first season with his new team, he scored 75 points, ranking him third among all rookies. Over the 1993-1994 season, he scored 97 points. One year later, in a lockout-shortened season, Lindros was named the league's MVP.

The fruits of the Nordiques trade soon gave way to medical problems. Over the 1997-1998 season, concussions kept Lindros out of 18 games. His head issues would nag Lindros for the remainder of his time in the orange and black, even as he was making about $8.5 million a season.

Rather than reporting for the 2000-2001 campaign, Lindros held out and demanded a trade. After a vicious public battle between the player and Flyers' GM Bobby Clarke, the Flyers cut Lindros loose, sending him to the New York Rangers.

The Nordiques organization didn't survive for long enough to evaluate their end of the bargain, as the team moved to Denver and became the Colorado Avalanche. But they were definitely on track towards great things, as evidenced in the Avs' 1996 Stanley Cup victory and the evolution of Peter Forsberg into one of the league's greatest players.

NBC shelled out big money to broadcast the 1992 Summer Games from Barcelona, paying $400 million in licensing fees and an additional $100 million in production costs.

In an effort to recoup some of that money, the network came up with a novel idea. NBC offered viewers 24-hour, commercial-free Olympics coverage. However, what they dubbed the "Olympic Triplecast" was not available on regular, free TV. Viewers had to pony up $125 for this two-week long, pay-per-view extravaganza.

NBC's plan was a dismal failure. Viewers realized that it was pointless to pay for some events when they could watch others at no charge. NBC and Comcast, its partner in this misguided venture, lost 10s of millions of dollars.